Joyriding mechanics......

[ferrisbueller]

Interesting hypothetical question for you......

Let's say you took your car, into a main dealer for an MOT (1 hr while you wait). The dealer is part of a group on the same road who use one of their other garages as their MOT centre. It's 200 yds from the point where you've parked your car. You note the miles before getting out and go in and hand over the keys.

You sit and read the entire Daily Telegraph and after an hour and 40 mins the car comes back. Having paid for the slow service, you get in and it has 3.5 miles extra on it. Bmused, you drive off back to work as you're already excessively late.......

Now it gets good. You get back to work and someone mentions that you were driving like an @rse earlier; speeding in built up areas, hooning around town acting the tw@t etc etc. They saw "you" doing this, "with a passenger in it", at the exact same time while it was having the MOT done.

What would you do?

[roadrunner440]

Go mental, take off and nuke the place from orbit after having a steamy wee.

Seriously, complain big time, you may have a ticket incoming amongst other things.

[andy_quantum]

Wasnt there a chap on here who had a GTM written off by similar antics??

[Raify]

Ferris Bueller?

Asking about Joyriding mechanics?

hang on a minute.....

[NiceCupOfTea]

Jack the car up, stick it in reverse, and wedge the accelerator down to get the extra miles off?

Seriously, I would get as much info as possible from those who saw "you" - exact antics, location, time, and armed with as much information as possible go in and demand to speak to the dealer principal.

Not sure what I would want "in exchange" though - obviously no more work to be done. Cost of MOT/service refunded? Personal apology from those involved? Would want to go to the top so they can't just "hush it up" in house. Maybe speak to press?

It's a breach of trust and totally out of order IMHO.

[OllieC]

theres a famour topic on an american forum where some mehcanic bragged about ragging the arse off some customers mustang, and bascially go into no end of trouble over it

i would find it, but i really cant be bothered

[Kinky]

And there was another guy on here who witnessed his own car being ragged down his local high street - Mitsi Evo I think it was!

K

[Raify]

Did the mechanic look anything like this?

[polus]

That really shows no respect. Bang out of order.

andy_quantum said:

Wasnt there a chap on here who had a GTM written off by similar antics??

I believe so.

[Buzz word]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Jack the car up, stick it in reverse, and wedge the accelerator down to get the extra miles off?

Be careful not to do it in a glass paneled garage on stilts though. You have to learn something from TV.

[Towie]

ferrisbueller said:

it has 3.5 miles extra on it.
someone mentions that you were driving like an @rse earlier;
speeding in built up areas,
hooning around town acting the tw@t etc etc.

What would you do?

Not believe them. It takes more than 3.5 miles for my PoS to exceed 30mph.

Ferris - I believe you have the name of the tester on the certificate. Blackmail could b profitable.

[ferrisbueller]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Seriously, I would get as much info as possible from those who saw "you" - exact antics, location, time, and armed with as much information as possible go in and demand to speak to the dealer principal.

Not sure what I would want "in exchange" though - obviously no more work to be done. Cost of MOT/service refunded? Personal apology from those involved? Would want to go to the top so they can't just "hush it up" in house. Maybe speak to press?

It's a breach of trust and totally out of order IMHO.

OK. I should add that I gathered all the details and went and saw the dealer principal. I got a refund for the MOT but don't see that as the end of it.

They took the car off the premises as they said they couldn't get it on the rollers for the brake test. However, their garage is on a long straight access road and the MOT requires one stop from 20mph for the in car decelorometer test. They could have done it in a few hundred yards. There was no need to take the car out and rag it.

Not sure what the legal position is or what compensation to pursue.

[carrotchomper]

I'll tell you what the legal position is. They have gone well beyond the "consent" you gave them in relation to using your car.

Go back to them with our favourite letters for today...

T W O C!

[littleandy0410]

Had a similar thing happen to me a few years back, I used to have a 306 Rallye, and had taken it to a local garage for a last minute MoT. (It had run out and I had a 500 mile trip to do the next day!) I returned to the car to hear the manifold 'pinging' and I could feel the heat off the brakes. This was bad enough, but then when the junior mechanic, who looked all of 15, said " Bloody quick, those cars, aren't they!?" I kind of guessed that some non-essential test driving had been going on. I reckon it happens all the time, to be honest, but it's pretty bad for a main dealer to do it. They've got their reputation to maintain.

Edited by littleandy0410 on Monday 11th June 20:58

[ferrisbueller]

carrotchomper said:

I'll tell you what the legal position is. They have gone well beyond the "consent" you gave them in relation to using your car.

Go back to them with our favourite letters for today...

T W O C!

I'm aware of the TWOC situation........but what can I do with it?

[paoloh]

Hang on guys, some vehicles have to be road tested as part of MOT test. 4x4's are an example, you can't brake roller test them like normal cars. Some MOT test station also road test cars with an LSD fitted to ensure no damage through brake testing

[ferrisbueller]

paoloh said:

Hang on guys, some vehicles have to be road tested as part of MOT test. 4x4's are an example, you can't brake roller test them like normal cars. Some MOT test station also road test cars with an LSD fitted to ensure no damage through brake testing

True. That would be ONE stop from 20mph.

[Matthew-TMM]

Have you reported it to the police? Easier that way if you get a ticket though the post I guess.

[Grey Ghost]

ferrisbueller said:

carrotchomper said:

I'll tell you what the legal position is. They have gone well beyond the "consent" you gave them in relation to using your car.

Go back to them with our favourite letters for today...

T W O C!

I'm aware of the TWOC situation........but what can I do with it?

Not sure if you want to go down the TWOC route at the moment. However, gather all the facts from those who saw "you" driving the car, places, times etc. Then meet with Dealer Pricipal and put your arguement to him, nicely to start with. If you do this you should be protecting yourself from any impending prosecution as you have made a formal complaint to the people concerned in good time. Then ask the man in charge what he is going to do about it given that it could have damaged your car internally and they should underwrite anything like this for a while.

Push hard and see what you get. If you are unhappy with his responses start with Citizens Advise and go from there.

[paoloh]

ferrisbueller said:

paoloh said:

Hang on guys, some vehicles have to be road tested as part of MOT test. 4x4's are an example, you can't brake roller test them like normal cars. Some MOT test station also road test cars with an LSD fitted to ensure no damage through brake testing

True. That would be ONE stop from 20mph.

Yes but you don't do the test, stop, do a 3 point turn and come back. Well not in the real world.